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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. present — there
  4. chip — for betting
  5. race — the arms race
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. land — to come down
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. present — the time now
  12. land — a country
  13. race — a contest
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. race — humankind
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. land — ground
  19. band — a ring
  20. pop — soda
  21. present — a gift
  22. band — a music group
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. band — a rubber band

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com